First time at sea, advice please

The Jerry can idea is good but only if you are well practiced at bleeding the fuel system, you can't just refill a stopped diesel engine once air is in there and expect it to start.
You will need to do this while bouncing around at the mercy of the waves often beam on when no propulsion which is a horrible motion in a mobo.
 
Bigplumbs said:
what nonsense over half of the boating world goes to sea with one engine. I do it all the time as does almost all the pe pole. I boat with. You just need to have confidence in your engine and have a good anchor
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It depends on the perceived level of hazard. If you look at the local boats at St Peter Port you will see that every single one carries a reserve engine.
 
valerian said:
Thanks for all the replies so far :) To summarise what I have gathered so far, the cross tides at Lowestoft can make this an uncomfortable first time out to sea, and traffic movements in the harbour area can be challenging. Yarmouth sounds like a gentler introduction for me, I have never used marine radio but have previous experience of ATC radio so am not too stressed about this aspect. Also potential to stir up contents of fuel tank. Not sure how I would check the state of the tank though as there is no inspection access.


Comfortable would be around 10-12 mph in flat conditions. I have managed 16+ mph over Breydon, but it would be tiresome to maintain it for too long. It's a Shetland 27 (Cat C rated).
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I use a racor filter with 10 micron filter on a yacht - when sludge/bug clogs it you change the filter. Ideally you drain the filter a few times before changing the filter. My outboard on the tender has an inline filter I change every year.
 
Actually I would have no idea how to bleed air out of the system if it was required. And I only have a mud-weight so really ought to get something more appropriate for the sea. My original intention was to venture only just outside the harbour, maybe a mile or 2 radius at the most. But I appreciate a stopped engine requires an anchor, especially in tide and wind conditions.

Regarding tides and swell, I can imagine a significant tide flowing north or south would make harbour entry a challenge, but i assume the technique would be similar to aircraft crabbing to maintain runway centreline in a crosswind? I'd also be inclined to head for the upstream side of the harbour and allow the boat to move more centrally by the harbour mouth.

Looking at the tides right now I see there is a 0.4 mtr swell. What is the significance of this? Is it just an issue of discomfort or is there a safety issue? Thanks for the contributions so far, most illuminating to a novice.
 
0.4 m swell not too bad but we find normally between 0.5 and 1m not too bad in our yacht, not sure how this would feel in a cruiser. Suggest you have a look at some charts, 2 mile out can be quite deep so anchoring not really an option apart from close to shore. It’s not just a case of nipping out of the harbour as once out you have to be able to get back, its not like just piping out of a river into a pool or creek.
crabbing side ways or ferry gliding is fairly simple when your used to how you boat moves in relation to tide and engine power.

get a few charts of the area and start planning and loads should start become clear, also you will need to be carful with time of day and plan for slack tide
 
PaulRainbow said:
How do you figure all of the motorboats go to sea ?
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Many are twins or have an auxiliary engine. It is not so much the going as the returning.?

Where I have operated out of many power boats have an auxiliary engine or only go out with a buddy boat - much cheaper than being towed back in.

Another option if you do not have a buddy boat is to have the contact number for a friend with a boat who is willing to come and offer assistance. In this case you need adequate ground tackle as you might be in for a bit of a wait.
 
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johnalison said:
It depends on the perceived level of hazard. If you look at the local boats at St Peter Port you will see that every single one carries a reserve engine.
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Same in Lagos.

In Portugal, if you are towed in it is a heavy fee and your boat may be impounded and not allowed to return to sea until it has been inspected as seaworthy. Seems reasonable to me.
 
A good anchor with at least 5 metres of chain (all chain better) on a good length of line is a vital part of gear, also a way of getting it back off the bottom, hand balling an anchor in can be bloody hard work and probably one of the most dangerous activities you will do at sea.
Swell/waves wise the height you cope with will depend on boat shape and wind direction, wind against tide gives short sharp peaks where wind with tide smooths it to long rolling waves and much comfier, a seasick skipper won't make nearly as good decisions as a skipper feeling good however experienced.
First learning curve is to change fuel filters and bleed the system and get well practised at it.
 
snowbird30ds said:
A good anchor with at least 5 metres of chain (all chain better) on a good length of line is a vital part of gear, also a way of getting it back off the bottom, hand balling an anchor in can be bloody hard work and probably one of the most dangerous activities you will do at sea.
Swell/waves wise the height you cope with will depend on boat shape and wind direction, wind against tide gives short sharp peaks where wind with tide smooths it to long rolling waves and much comfier, a seasick skipper won't make nearly as good decisions as a skipper feeling good however experienced.
First learning curve is to change fuel filters and bleed the system and get well practised at it.
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In addition to the usual anti-seasickness preparations, we found that crystallised dry ginger or ginger cordial/lemonade is good at warding off seasickness.
 
valerian said:
Thanks for all the replies so far :) To summarise what I have gathered so far, the cross tides at Lowestoft can make this an uncomfortable first time out to sea, and traffic movements in the harbour area can be challenging. Yarmouth sounds like a gentler introduction for me, I have never used marine radio but have previous experience of ATC radio so am not too stressed about this aspect. Also potential to stir up contents of fuel tank. Not sure how I would check the state of the tank though as there is no inspection access.


Comfortable would be around 10-12 mph in flat conditions. I have managed 16+ mph over Breydon, but it would be tiresome to maintain it for too long. It's a Shetland 27 (Cat C rated).
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If you can access the top of your tank via the filler or any other hose connection you may be able to feed in a small hose or pipe (I use 8mm copper) & pump or siphon a sample from the lowest part of the tank where any sludge or water will accumulate. I now do this at the start of each season - please don’t ask me why :rolleyes:
 
Probably a good idea to give your tank a good strong dose of something like marine16 and keep dosing it regularly till next season and look at heading out then, gives you a good chance of any nasties being killed off and any sludge broken down, you'll be able to see the results in the pre-filters, a good run across breydon water on a choppy day is worthwhile before a filter change to see if anything gets stirred up but it won't do it anything like the real sea trip will.
 
nortada said:
Many are twins or have an auxiliary engine. It is not so much the going as the returning.?

Where I have operated out of many power boats have an auxiliary engine or only go out with a buddy boat - much cheaper than being towed back in.

Another option if you do not have a buddy boat is to have the contact number for a friend with a boat who is willing to come and offer assistance. In this case you need adequate ground tackle as you might be in for a bit of a wait.
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My current boat has twin engines, a dose of diesel bug in the next fill up will render them both dead. What sort of aux engine would you suggest for a 20 ton, 45ft motorboat ?
 
PaulRainbow said:
My current boat has twin engines, a dose of diesel bug in the next fill up will render them both dead. What sort of aux engine would you suggest for a 20 ton, 45ft motorboat ?
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I also have a twin diesel but my thoughts were centred around somebody going to sea for the first time in a very different vessel.

But as you ask. My engines operate in total isolation, each with it’s own fuel tankage so intelligent refuelling will minimise the problem of fuel contamination.

Debris in the tanks is a more likely problem so like the RN, I also have a separate day tank that can be patched into either engine.

In the past, I have changed a fuel filter whilst at sea. Not much fun but it can be another solution.
 
nortada said:
I also have a twin diesel but my thoughts were centred around somebody going to sea for the first time in a very different vessel.
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But you said "On a broader front, I would not go to sea with a single means of propulsion - too much can go wrong "

But as you ask. My engines operate in total isolation, each with it’s own fuel tankage so intelligent refuelling will minimise the problem of fuel contamination.

Debris in the tanks is a more likely problem so like the RN, I also have a separate day tank that can be patched into either engine.

In the past, I have changed a fuel filter whilst at sea. Not much fun but it can be another solution.
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So do you fill one tank from one marina and the other from a different source, then fill the day tank from somewhere else ?

I think not.

My engines also run in isolation, but i fill them up at the same time. A contaminated supply would affect both tanks. Given the fact that a day tank would be filled from the same supply, that would be affected too.

My last but one boat was a 28ft single engined motorboat, fitted with a 200hp inboard diesel. What sort of aux engine would be needed to push that along and where would you store the petrol to run it ?

With respect, you might want to rethink the statement "On a broader front, I would not go to sea with a single means of propulsion - too much can go wrong "
 
PaulRainbow said:
After reading this thread, probably best to sell the boat and buy a nice, safe, armchair.
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haha, yes it did occur to me that i might be best to confine my adventures to the backwaters around Geldeston or Dilham :) But I appreciate the replies, it's very useful to be aware of the potential problems that can arise. Clearly there are some things i must address before venturing beyond the relatively tranquil waters.
 
PaulRainbow said:
My current boat has twin engines, a dose of diesel bug in the next fill up will render them both dead. What sort of aux engine would you suggest for a 20 ton, 45ft motorboat ?
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Corr Guvenor , you could use the pair of Sweeps of course , the Thames Lighter Med of Old did ; mind you they
went with the current /tide as it helped [:)#
 
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